Add spice to your Holiday desserts recipe with this Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake that just screams Fall in every bite. Made in an Instant Pot this is a perfect no-bake dessert with a smooth and creamy filling, pecan crust and topped with homemade salted caramel sauce. Have also included oven version too.
In a mixer pulse together the biscuit crumbs, sugar, cinnamon or pumpkin spice powder, pecans until it is mixed together.
Add in the melted butter and pulse again till it resembles wet sand-like texture. To test it press a handful of the crumbs in your palms, it should stay together without falling apart.
Spray a 7-inch springform pan with some oil and transfer the prepared biscuit crumb mixture to it. Press it down so that it lines the entire base as well as take some to the sides of the pan.
Allow it to chill for 15 mins or until you prepare your cheesecake batter.
Cheesecake Batter
In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cornflour, pumpkin spice powder and vanilla until smooth and lump-free. Set it aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
Whisking continuously add in the sugar and whisk till combined.
Next goes the sour cream and mix that too.
Time for Eggs. Add one at a time. That means to add an egg, whisk to combine and then add the next and whisk that as well.
Before we proceed further, take out 1/3 cup of the batter and keep it aside to create the beautiful swirl pattern on top later on.
To the rest of the batter add the prepared pumpkin puree mix and combine together.
Transfer this to our 7-inch cake pan. Smoothen the top. Add dollops of the plain cheesecake batter here and there from the 1/3 cup batter that you had set aside.
Using a skewer create random lines, zig-zag pattern to create the swirl effect.
Prepare the sling as shown in the video. Place the pan on top.
Add 2 cups of water to the base of the pot using the cup that came along with the pot. Place the trivet and then the cheesecake pan.
Close the lid. Vent to sealing position. Set the timer to 35 mins using the Manual mode or Pressure Cook mode. Once the timer goes off, allow the pot to depressurize naturally.
Take the cheesecake pan out and allow it to come to room temperature. Then place it in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours to set completely or preferably overnight.
Decorate with whipped cream, caramel sauce and praline or as per your choice.
How to make Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake in Jars
Start by halving the recipe. This would yield 5 to 6 "4 oz" mason jars depending upon how much batter you fill in each jar.
All the steps remain the same. The cooking time will be 5 mins instead of 35 mins as mentioned for the 7-inch springform pan. All the other instructions remain the same.
If you would like to get a step by step instruction on how to make this in jars then you can check my previous post - Instant Pot Mint Cheesecake in a Jar for the same.
How to make Cheesecake in the oven
Take a baking tray and place your cake pan on top of it. Fill it halfway through with boiling hot water.
Bake in a preheated oven of 180°C for 65 to 80 mins until the sides are set and the centre still jiggles a bit.
After the baking time, do not immediately open up the oven door, open it just so lightly by placing a kitchen towel in between so that the door is slightly opened.
Let the pan sit in there for another 1 hour and then take it out and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours.
Notes
I have used plain old digestive biscuits as my base. You can use graham crackers or even gingersnap biscuits. If using gingersnap biscuits avoid the cinnamon powder or pumpkin spice powder mentioned in the ingredients.
This recipe is perfect for a 7 inch cake pan which fits perfectly well in a 6 quat or 8 quat instant pot.
I live in NZ and got these cute little mason jars from a local shop but these are available on Amazon under the brand name Quattro Stagioni.
Make sure to use room temperature ingredients.
How to make Halloween Cheesecake Jars
First of all start by using Oreos in place of digestive biscuits or graham crackers.Next in the above recipe I skipped the pumpkin spice powder in the cheesecake batter and also added a good amount of orange food colouring.So this gave me a perfect black and orange colour as desired for Halloween.
To make the SpiderWeb Cheesecake Jars:
Microwave some marshmallows in the microwave for 10 sec.Acting quickly take some melted marshmallows in between your fingers and start pulling them apart so that they stretch and create a beautiful spiderweb like patter.Immediately place them on top of the cheesecake jars. Repeat the process 2-3 times working in a different angle until the top is covered entirely. If in between the marshmallow hardens and you find it difficult to stretch them microwave again for 10 sec and continue.Finally place the handsome spider responsible for all this mess on top and voila you have your spiderweb cheesecake jar ready for Halloween.
To make Monster Cheesecake Jars:
These are super simple.Simply cut some small triangles and zig-zag pattern on a black chart paper and stick them on the cheesecake jars.That's it!! The monster cheesecake jars are ready.
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